Fifty Moments of Learan Love
by RhaedaLeeMire
Summary: "After the laughter, the tears, and the desperate embrace had ended, they wished they would have gathered the courage to close the one gap between them they'd never dared to breach." Fifty moments in Leah and Roran's partnership, one sentence apiece. [A Pokémon Mystery Dungeon 2 oneshot]


**A/N: **This was my first attempt at a 1-sentence challenge, originally written as a Christmas gift of sorts on deviantART back in 2010. I've seen a few of these 50-sentence fics around on various sites, and I had always loved how the well-written ones can summarize a couple's relationship completely with so few words. So I thought I'd try it out for myself with Leah the Treecko and Roran the Riolu.

**Disclaimer: **Pokémon, including all species used in this story, belongs to Satoshi Tajiri, Nintendo, The Pokémon Company, etc. Leah and Roran belong to me.

**Last Edited: **6/13/14

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**LEARAN 50 SENTENCES CHALLENGE**

1. **Comfort -** Leah had always been the one to comfort him, so when she awoke that morning visibly shaken after another visit from Cresselia, Roran knew it was time to put aside his own foreboding dreams and return the favor.

2. **Kiss -** Their reunion on the beach was a memory they would cherish forever, but after the laughter, the tears, and the desperate embrace had ended, they wished they would have gathered the courage to close the one gap between them that they'd never dared to breach.

3. **Soft -** Leah beamed at Roran as she praised his quick thinking for saving them all from Dusknoir and Primal Dialga, and the warm softness of pride in her eyes made him feel like he would melt.

4. **Pain -** It hurt when Leah had confided that she didn't trust Dusknoir, who reminded Roran so strongly of his father, but nothing compared to the pain of Dusknoir's betrayal and the realization that, for the first time, he'd hadn't trusted his partner.

5. **Potatoes -** As they trudged through the paralyzed future world, Leah pointed at a boulder suspended above Roran and said it looked like a giant potato; she was rewarded with a tiny but genuine chuckle.

6. **Rain –** Roran thought they must both be insane as he leapt with Leah into the raging waterfall, but when they touched down safely on the other side, he vowed that from then on he would always trust his partner, no matter what she told him.

7. **Chocolate -** Leah stared at the thin, brown bar with a hint of doubt but tried it for Roran's sake; her eyes widened as the sweetness melted on her tongue, and she turned to ask him what that flavor was.

8. **Happiness -** They would part with blushes and awkwardness in a moment, but for now, they twirled in each other's arms, basking in the euphoria of returning home safely to their colorful and lively time period.

9. **Telephone -** Their Wonder Map allowed Leah to keep track of Roran's position whenever they became separated in dungeons, but she often wished they could use their Explorer Badges to communicate across the distance.

10. **Ears -** As Team Charm watched Lean and Roran finish off a Machoke with perfectly synchronized attacks, Lopunny gushed at what an adorable couple they made; they turned to the long-eared Pokémon with identical blushes and stammered that they were just friends.

11. **Name -** From the moment he first heard Leah's name, Roran loved the way it sounded—so he said it as often as he could, not caring who thought it redundant or annoying.

12. **Sensual -** Her eyes knew the gestures and changes in his body posture to look for, and his ears knew the cues in her volume and pitch to listen for, but neither of them knew how to react to the electric spark that coursed through their skin with the slightest brush of their hands.

13. **Death -** Leah's disappearance was a fate worse than death; in death, something of her would have been left behind, but as the glowing spheres of her fading life force dissolved her before his eyes, it was as if the world was denying she ever existed in the first place.

14. **Sex -** They had only to look at Sunflora and Loudred to justify their own feelings for a Pokémon who belonged to a different egg group than their own.

15. **Touch -** Roran was amazed when he learned that Leah's visions were triggered just by touching something, and he realized he was lucky to have such a special partner.

16. **Weakness -** When Leah admitted that part of the reason she acted so tough was so others wouldn't perceive her as weak, Roran felt ashamed for having burdened her with all of his problems and forgetting that she could feel insecure, too.

17. **Tears -** Leah had always wondered if death hurt, but as her body slowly disintegrated on the bridge from Temporal Tower, she found that the worst pain was watching tears of heartbreak and loneliness fall from Roran's eyes.

18. **Speed -** If Roran was surprised by how quickly Leah identified visitors' footprints during their first day of sentry duty, he was even more amazed when she later confessed to him that she had no idea how she knew all of that.*

19. **Wind -** Roran always loved the peaceful expression that brightened Leah's face when she turned her head to feel the breeze, her eyes gently closing and a small smile blossoming at the corners of her lips.

20. **Freedom -** She couldn't remember what it was like to be human, but she doubted she'd ever felt as free as she did now in Treecko form—she was agile, flexible, able to climb walls and predict the weather, skilled with attacks… and she finally dropped the justification attempt and conceded that the most important reason she loved being a Pokémon was that it allowed her to be this close to Roran.

21. **Life -** When Manaphy hatched and Chatot gave them permission to take care of him, it was like they were looking into a Xatu's prediction of the direction their lives could take when they reached adulthood.

22. **Jealousy -** Watching the eagerness Leah and Grovyle shared as the Time Gear thief told her stories of the future-past she'd forgotten, Roran felt a foreign surge of anxiety and bitterness churn in his gut.

23. **Hands -** Grovyle listened as Roran told him how Leah gave him courage and strength, and hearing the devotion in the Riolu's voice, he knew his former partner was in good hands.

24. **Taste –** The thought of keeping her fate a secret from Roran left a horrible taste in Leah's mouth, but knowing that he would hesitate to change history if he knew she would disappear, she forced herself to nod and handed him the last Time Gear.

25. **Devotion -** When she agreed to form an Exploration Team with him, little did she know that the short, timid Riolu who begged her for help against the bullies would become an utterly loyal, brave, and selfless best friend, and that she would give these same qualities back to him.

26. **Forever –** Defeating Darkrai was closure for them both, but as they finally shared their second kiss, Roran silently wished that no matter what the future peace might bring for their newfound relationship, he and Leah would remain best friends and partners forever.

27. **Blood -** As a heavily wounded and immobilized Roran made one last stand against Grovyle, Leah struggled futilely against her broken body's exhaustion, wishing she could find the strength to crawl in front of her teammate and take the attack for him.

28. **Sickness -** When Leah sneezed for the third time since they'd arrived on Blizzard Island, Roran wished for just a moment that he could become a Fire-type so he could warm her from her frozen torture.

29. **Melody -** He could see that it was her body, could feel that it was her aura, but it wasn't until she spoke that he _knew_ she was truly back, and those two simple words were the most beautiful sound he'd ever heard: "I'm home."

30. **Star -** Leah was pleased to see how much self-confidence Roran had gained since they'd started out as an exploration team, and as he led her and Bidoof over the seaside cliffs, she decided he'd earned his moment of glory.

31. **Home -** She was grateful to Grovyle for everything he'd done for her, but Leah knew that in spite of who she was before she lost her memories, Treasure Town was her home now, and home would always exist for her as long as Roran was there.

32. **Confusion -** When Roran finally gave in to Cresselia's claims, Leah could feel the hope she'd maintained start to crumble around evidence she couldn't deny, no matter how little it made sense.

33. **Fear -** She'd survived the paralyzed future twice, faced towering legendaries with only a Riolu at her side, and triumphed over the Ghost-type assassins who had targeted her long before she could even remember, but nothing terrified her more than four words from Roran's lips: "Maybe Darkrai... is right."

34. **Lightning/Thunder -** Although Roran looked forward to the oncoming thunderstorm as a refreshing change in weather, Leah couldn't shake the feeling that it was an omen of something bad coming, some new catastrophe that would shatter their months of peace.

35. **Bonds -** He'd torn through the physical bonds of the stockade pillar with ease, but it was only after Leah cheered him up with a plan to ask Grovyle for a way back home that Roran finally felt a break in the emotional bonds weighing him down to this paralyzed future.

36. **Market -** He saw the calculating gleam in her eyes as she examined the Wide Slash TM at Kecleon Market and Wares, and without hesitation, he reached for his half of their eight-thousand Poké.

37. **Technology -** They never would have guessed that the small, patterned stone that Roran treasured so dearly, the same Relic Fragment that had brought them together in the first place, would be the key to Temporal Tower and the world's salvation.

38. **Gift -** When Shaymin explained to Leah and Roran that the Sky Gifts they found were meant to express feelings of gratitude, one name sprung to each of their minds, and they snuck a covert glance at each other without realizing the other was doing the same.

39. **Smile -** Fogbound Lake was the most beautiful place he had ever seen, so when he turned to see the smile on Leah's face and the shimmer on her skin from the glowing Volbeat and Illumise, why did he find it so hard to look away?

40. **Innocence -** Sorrow swelled in Leah's heart upon seeing the dullness in Roran's eyes, deepening with each step they took through the paralyzed world as the darkness leeched his innocence away.

41. **Completion -** Roran thought he would explode from euphoria when his new partner placed Spoink's pearl safely in their treasure bag; Leah couldn't help but grin at his enthusiasm, knowing their success was proof for him that he could achieve his dream.

42. **Clouds -** As the dust clouds cleared, Roran marveled at the sprawling underground cave before them, sand streaming down in multiple directions from the quicksand pools overhead, and realized that another one of Leah's "master plans" had worked.*

43. **Sky -** Roran stared at the sky, hoping the light would shine back down on the pool and the voice would tell him it had made a mistake; Leah placed a hand on his shoulder and reassured him that he didn't need to evolve, because he was already strong as he was.

44. **Heaven -** As they left Dark Crater, luxuriating in the high of their very close victory, Leah knew it was time to confess her feelings; when Roran returned them under a blanket of stars, she knew what heaven was.

45. **Hell –** Forced to watch from his trapped position as the nightmare attack caused pain and indecision to scar Leah's face, hearing Darkrai's taunts that she was seeing her beloved partner betray everything they had fought for, Roran knew what hell was.

46. **Sun -** The rising sun was a visual confirmation of the hope behind Leah's pep talk, and for the first time since Cresselia had appeared in his dreams, Roran turned to his partner with a real grin and told her he wouldn't give up.

47. **Moon -** Listening to the sound of Leah's even breathing, Roran turned his eyes to the full moon outside their window, silently thanking Arceus for his new partner and the chance to live out his dream.

48. **Waves -** Leah smiled at Roran's enraptured expression as he watched the evening scenery on the beach; seeing his eyes glitter with the reflection of Krabby bubbles and the setting sun, she understood why he loved the sight so much.

49. **Hair –** Sometimes, Roran would try to picture what Leah looked like as a human, but he just couldn't imagine her with hair when he was so used to seeing her as a reptilian Treecko.

50. **Supernova -** As lightning smashed the pillars in half and Temporal Tower shuddered with earthquake force, they looked in each other's eyes and found solace in one thought: _If this is the end, at least we're together._

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***FOOTNOTES***  
#18 – In psychology, there's a distinction between semantic memory (general facts) and episodic memory (events in your life.) It's possible for memory loss to affect only one of these areas rather than both since they're concentrated in different parts of the brain. In the future world, Leah studied Pokémon species by memorizing a Pokédex-like encyclopedia in Nidoking's library, which included depictions of Pokémon footprints. Leah only lost her episodic memory when she came to the past, so when she's on sentry duty, she's still able to pull from her semantic memory the things she'd carefully memorized in her childhood, and she does it without realizing it or remembering where it came from.

#42 – In the future world, Dusknoir always referred to Leah's quick thinking and sometimes crazy ideas as her "master plans." At some point, Roran adopts the phrase for his own use.


End file.
